Wakeup Call
by Luddles
Summary: Most of the time, waking Genesis up was torture. When he was sick, it just got ten times worse. Consequently, Sephiroth was not having a good morning. Oneshot.


**Disclaimer: Guys, I haven't even legitimately **_**played**_** FFVII. I don't know how that's a disclaimer, but it is.**

**A/N: Right after writing this, I got sick. WHAT KIND OF IRONY IS THIS MADNESS!**

**Wakeup Call**

Most of the time, waking Genesis up was torture. Angeal had once called it the worst form of torment known to mankind. Then again, he'd been doing it forever. Sephiroth was finding it equally difficult. Normally (since Genesis usually slept in his boxers), Sephiroth put him in the shower and turned the water on – cold.

He was thinking Genesis would be a little mad if he did that while Genesis was wearing a T-shirt and sweatpants.

"Hey, Genesis," Sephiroth muttered, prodding him in the arm. Genesis growled and turned away.

"Don't even try it." He was referring to the shower, most likely. He was awake, but his voice was hoarse.

"Did you get that cold I had?"

Genesis glared at him like he was the cause of all the problems in the world. Which was completely uncalled for, because he was only the cause of half of them. Hojo and ShinRa were the cause of the rest. Genesis looked paler than usual, but his nose and cheeks were bright red and there were dark rings around his eyes (although Sephiroth thought those were from the mascara and eyeshadow he always swore Genesis wore whether Genesis denied it or not). In short, he looked like death incarnate.

"It's not my fault you didn't just leave me well enough along when I had it," Sephiroth said. Genesis made a little noise of distress and pulled the enormously fluffy comforter he loved so much back over his head.

"Without me, you would've either died or gone to Hojo. I wasn't leaving you to either fate, Seph." Sephiroth's ears went red. He'd never had anyone take care of him when he was sick before that (unless getting shots from Hojo counted).

"Well, if you die," Sephiroth said, "I will have no sympathy."

Genesis got sick more easily than the rest of the Firsts, even though, like the rest of SOLDIER, he was immune to most diseases. The few that SOLDIERS could catch would kill ordinary people; the same went for the cold Genesis had. 

Sephiroth did not reveal the fact that he always legitimately worried when Genesis got sick.

Genesis laughed sourly at his words. At least he no longer seemed angry about Sephiroth getting him sick. As Genesis's laughter dissolved into a coughing fit, he buried himself deeper into his blankets. "Ugh, I feel like crap," he groaned. While Genesis was complaining, Sephiroth rummaged around in the closet and pulled out a blanket. As he laid it over Genesis, he leaned down and pressed his forehead against the Commander's.

"…I think you have a fever," he said quietly.

"No, really?"

Sephiroth had forgotten how bitingly sarcastic Genesis was, especially when he wasn't feeling well. He wondered how he'd forgotten, after all, during their campaign two months ago, Genesis had been shot. What he said was the field medics took the bullet out told them all he'd spent enough time in the army to swear like the rest of them. "Do you want me to go get some meds from Hojo?" Sephiroth asked.

"No, send a cadet to get some ibuprofen from one of the lab techs. Hojo would poison me, and I want you here," Genesis said. Sephiroth though Genesis needed more than simple painkillers, but he chose not to argue.

"Okay," he said, ducking into the hall to pull out his PHS and call someone. Genesis knew a lot of cadets, mostly because he taught them, but Sephiroth didn't. The only cadet whose number was in his phone was named Cloud Strife. Cloud was a friend of Zack's, and Sephiroth knew he was reliable and actually cared about Genesis. Most cadets were just terrified of him.

Well, Cloud had been, but he'd gotten over it.

"Cloud'll be here in a few minutes," Sephiroth said, "do you need anything?"

"Sleep," Genesis replied.

Sephiroth nodded and stood, leaving the room. Genesis pouted, giving Sephiroth enormous puppy eyes. "I'm coming back after I call us off work and get some files to read while I watch you," Sephiroth notified him.

"Watch away," Genesis chuckled.

Cloud came to the door while Sephiroth was on the phone with Lazard. "Sir, I got some medicine for Genesis," Cloud said, handing him a bottle.

"Thank you," Sephiroth said.

"Do you want me to get you anything else for him?"

"No, we'll be alright until Angeal gets back. He absolutely dotes on Genesis whenever he's sick." Sephiroth pulled a face at that thought. He personally hated it when Angeal acted that way toward him, and he didn't know how Genesis stood it.

Then again, Genesis loved attention from anyone or anything.

Sephiroth collected the files from the SOLDIER program's most recent prospective members. Lazard, after seeing how well things went with Angeal and his puppy, wanted Sephiroth to consider mentoring one of the new recruits. He was entirely against the decision, but, out of courtesy, took the files anyway. None of them were particularly outstanding, which would allow him to keep an eye on Genesis.

Sephiroth, as usual, didn't bother knocking before entering Genesis's room. He entered quietly and set the medicine Cloud gave him on the nightstand next to a glass of water that Genesis had gotten himself at some point. True to his word, Genesis was fast asleep on the bed, buried under a mound of blankets. He looked curiously like an enormous caterpillar rolled up in the cocoon of his bedspread. Sephiroth stifled a laugh as he seated himself next to Genesis. He tugged at the blankets a little, trying to get Genesis to move so that he could put the blankets over his lap, but Genesis just pulled them more tightly around himself.

"Predictably selfish, as always," Sephiroth mused, flicking open the first folder and scanning the information within.

"'S not like I would gain anything from being unpredictable. All it'd do is send you into a tizzy again."

It _did _tend to put him off-guard when Genesis did something unusual.

Not that he would tell anyone that.

"I'd be fine," he replied, hardly paying attention to what he was reading. "The medicine you asked for is on the nightstand, by the way."

Genesis groaned as he unrolled himself from the blankets, undeniably perturbed by the process of actually having to move. After he'd swallowed the pills (he always took four, which quite disturbed Sephiroth until he learned that Genesis's system could deal with it because of the mako), he rolled himself back up in the blankets and shifted slightly so that he was against Sephiroth's side.

"You know, I really hate that you're so cuddly when you're sick," Sephiroth noted. He also hated that Genesis was cuddly right after mako treatments, when Sephiroth wanted nothing at all to touch him unless it was cold. And Genesis was _never_ cold.

"I know that," Genesis replied, but he didn't move.

"Do you also know that I want you out of my personal space right now?"

"Yep."

There were times when Sephiroth could have smacked Genesis and called him an obnoxious, pretentious brat.

But today, he decided to cut Genesis some slack.

Just because he was sick.


End file.
